Clockwork
by owlcat92
Summary: The day had started out normal enough. But then there was a sound, a small squeak, that did it. He stood there, looking around his lair in a mild interest. He was not alone. Somebody had come for a vist. Tick Tock Tick Tock. Daddy!Bats. - Cat


**Basicly Daddy!Bats. Because everbody needs Daddy!Bats. I thought it was kinda annoying that a ton of fics I've read that are a litle like this never give Slade a chance - so him landing a hit is something I thought was important.**

The villain's eyes darted around his lair as he stood, still, battle ready in a deep shadow. Slade had always been attentive, years of training in the army had ready done him well – but sometimes he wondered if he was a little rusty. He knew that after Grant and Joey had been born he had lost _some _of his more observant strategy's when in the field, but those had come flooding back when Grant had died, even more so when he had found out that he had a _daughter _and he had never noticed. Why Ms Lillian Worth had kept Rose from him was still a mystery to him, not that he had really cared.

But it wasn't those that kept him up at night.

Slade had wondered why had had thought it a good idea to install clockwork into his lair.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

It annoyed him to no end, but he had never had the time to remove it – it was just a bad decision on his part and none of his other lairs were going to echo that decision, his sensitive hearing beating in his ears, every single _Tick _accompanied by an equally frustrating _Tock. _

Slade just stood there, looking around, listening for _anything _over the pounding, patterned sounds that echoed in his ears.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

The man readjusted his pose, his hands curling into deeper fists, his feet slowly rearranging themselves on the floor, his knees were slightly bent so if an attack was to come, he would have at least a little bit of the shock absorbed – he wasn't that sure somebody was here with him, he could not see anybody, but he had learned to trust his other four senses and right now everything was screaming at him to be careful.

Slade closed his eyes, though one was made of glass, and took a deep breath, before opening them again.

Yes, something was wrong, the shadows had always comforted him, but right now, he felt like he would be safer in an open light, his eyes flittered to a large area of open where he normally spared or practiced. But Slade couldn't move; it felt as if somebody else was controlling the shadows tonight and they were holding him back.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

The villain knew where he had felt this before – the vague memories of Gotham littered his mind. He had been a different man back then, going by the name of Deathstroke - but Batman would never leave his post and Gotham was never to be left alone in the untrained hands of another hero.

But he couldn't shake that feeling out of his chest – a cold hand worming its way through his ribcage and squeezing his heart, sending shivers through all his limbs.

The shadows _really _didn't feel like a good place to be. His lips fell into a scowl.

Again, he sifted his feet, slowly taking a tiny step forwards towards the best lit area of his clockwork lair. Nothing happened. Another uneventful step, yet another and another.

Slade didn't like this.

_Hiss Click_

The man's eyes fluttered to the ceiling were the sound had come from – even with his sensitive hearing, it sounded quiet and wouldn't have been heard by anybody else.

_Hiss Click_

This one came from the left of him and as he took another step forwards, his eyes turned to stare at the spot, his head barely following his eyes lead.

It was silent, completely still. Slade's heart started to pump a little faster, coming out of its almost calm faze. He stopped, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

_Hiss Click_

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

_Hiss Click_

The air filled with masses of bats, screaming and squealing as they flew through the air and speed through gaps in the pipe work, slowly making their way up through the ceiling into the hidden night sky.

Slade's heart pumped even faster – bats, oh god, _bats_.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

The light was but a hop skip and jump away, but Slade didn't move. He _couldn't _move – leaving Gotham had left him rusty, but he was sure that a certain Bat was sitting somewhere in the darkness above him, or hell, even to the side of him. He could be right behind him and he wouldn't even-

Slade quickly turned around, his breathing coming out in short bursts like he had already had a huge fight. Why couldn't he just kill him, this was torture – he couldn't last that much longer.

_Hiss Click_

He turned back to where had had started to walk, only to be slammed into the wall by a black fist – the man to which it had belonged quickly disappeared.

"I knew you were here, Batman!" Slade screamed; looking at the pipes above him to where he was sure the caped crusader had disappeared too.

A really, _really _pissed off growl was his only answer, before he felt a boot collide with his side. The villain swung his fist blindly and surprisingly he felt it hit Kevlar, it was only as the thing that he had 'hit' was turned and flipped him onto the ground he realized – the man had caught his fist and used it to get him into a more vulnerable position. A boot slammed onto his left wrist, both trapping it and breaking it.

The man growled but Slade played brave.

"What are you doing here Batman?" Slade asked; his right hand flat on the ground and his chest rising in pained breaths; that kick to the side had probably broken some ribs. "Why aren't you in _Gotham_?"

Batman lifted his boot from the man's left wrist and crunched it onto his right, Slade winced under his mask.

"You are not leaving here in one piece, Wilson." The Bats voice, though normally dark, sounded completely murderous – deadly. He looked as if he was barely resisting the urge to rip Slade limb from limb.

"Oh?" Slade licked his dry lips, staring at the living shadow.

Batman grabbed the villain's shoulders and slammed him into a wall, lifting his hand curling it into a fist, swinging and letting it collide with Slade Wilson's face.

"You are never going to hurt my family ever again." Batman hissed, his voice impossibly dropping another octave; another punch to the face, before Batman lifted his knee and kneed him to the groin. "You are never going to hurt _him_ ever again."

Slade's interest spiked and he launched his foot forwards, kicking the anger controlled Bat in the stomach, causing him to stumble backwards and quickly disappear into the ceiling.

"_Whom, _may I ask?" Slade drawled, staring up at the pipes.

_Hiss Click_

_Crunch!_

Slade fell forwards as the bat kicked his back with both feet.

"You are never," Batman hissed, an inch from Slade's face, so close that he couldn't focus on anything but the heroes deadly words. "Ever hurting my son ever again."

Slade's eyebrows shot up, his body twisting around and using his knees shove off the bat. "Your son? I haven't been to Gotham in a very long time, Batman; how in God's name could I hurt your son?"

Batman growled; the sound even deeper than before and he faded away into the shadows behind him. Slade cursed his love for dark bases – he cursed himself for deciding to use, loud, annoying clockwork, it cancelled out any other sound he could hear.

Something pinched the back of his neck and he went stiff, his eyes straining to see the Masked Manhunter behind him.

"You are _never _going to hurt Robin ever again."

He let go of the nerve that he had attacked and he man fell to the floor, unconscious. Batman stood over the man, his masked eyes staring down at the man who had caused Robin, _his son_, both physical and emotional pain. Batman hardly even hurt a man who was down, but this… _thing_ was a exception. He lifted his boot from the ground and stomped it on one of the unconscious man's legs, giving a rather evil smirk as he heard the sound of bone cracking.

"Never… ever again…"

The man left, leaping through the roof and weaving his way through the piping into the cold night sky, tossing a look at Titans Tower and letting a ghost of a smile on his face. Batman slowly made his way to the tower, entering it quickly and silently after taking out the security – no doubt Cyborg's work, because Robin's was much harder to hack – and making his way to Robin's bedroom, quickly ducking in and staring at the sleeping boy, reaching forward and moving a lock of raven hair from his eyes.

"Never again."

And with that, the man left – the only clue to his being there a mysterious tipoff to the police leading straight towards Slade still lay, silent, on the floor of his lair.

_Tick Tock Tick Tock_

**That ending was so cheesy. Gah - I needed my daddy!bats. Still, I hope you enjoyed. The ending was a little rushed, but it was sure as hell better than the old ending I wrote - that was just ****_rubbish_****. Well, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading,**

**Review and/or PM me,**

**- Cat =^.^=**


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